The Bedpan

Ah, yes, the term conjures up some rather unpleasant thoughts. Luckily, we're talking about a completely different bedpan here. Full bellypans are a long-standing hot rod tradition generally reserved for coupes, roadsters, and sedans, and seldom seen on trucks. While the original bellypan concept was designed to cheat the wind by smoothing the bottom side of the car, today, a louvered pan is often more ornamental than instrumental.

2/25

Last fall, we decided to bring our '40 Ford pickup back to a higher standard--nothing too crazy, just clean up some rust, spray new paint, and freshen up the interior, bringing it back to driver-quality standards. While doing the bodywork, we discovered that the bottom side of the bed was an unsightly mess--just the place for some extra hot-rod flavor. An inexpensive, simple solution (the best kind!) was a louvered pan that covers the bottom of the bed, the rear crossmember, and the partially exposed gas tank. Because we'd already mounted the license plate on the rear crossmember, the plan was to retain and louver around it. When these trucks were built, Ford was not too concerned about a little bit of chassis showing between the back of the rear fender and bed. That is another area that needed a little cleaning up, so, our pan was designed to cover the rearmost portion of the side rails, too.

Attaching the new pan to the bed involved tapping holes in the crossmember and installing Nutsert threaded rivets (Fastenal.com) everywhere else, as sheet-metal screws are not our favorite way of attaching anything. Aircraft Spruce (AircraftSpruce.com) supplied the Nutsert installation tool. Special thanks go out to Larry Shoaf at Rodcrafters (Welcome, North Carolina) for allowing us to punch our own louvers with his Williams Lowbuck press (LowBuckTools.com).

Of course, like most things on old hot rods, this job got a bit more involved once it became apparent that the rear bed mounts would have to be modified and the exhaust-pipe hangers changed. For the most part, however, it was a matter of carefully fabricating, fitting, and attaching the pan. We're pleased with the results. The same basic principles will apply to many trucks and cars. After all, not all hot rod pans are bedpans.